Hunt poetry
by Sherry Furude
Summary: A casual encounter offers both Conan and Ai highly tempting possibilities. However, these may not be as achievable as they seem. The first question is clear – should they even try to seize the chance? Fic requested by icetears2.
1. Sighting

**DISCLAIMER:** The entire _Detective Conan_ series, including its characters, belong to **Gosho Aoyama**. This is a **non-profit fan work**.

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 **Chapter 1: Sighting.**

At some point of their journey, the teacher had decided to make her students sing. Ai understood the basis for that thought (that it would keep them busy and prevent them from running around) but still didn't fancy the idea when taken to practice. Mainly, for the repetitive chant resonating in her hears that it meant. Secondly, becaue there was nothing she could do but put up with it – jumping off the bus halfway through the day's excursion would be considered discourteous at the very least.

The girl fought not to fall onto Conan when their mean of transportation stopped at the umpteenth red light. His hands pushed her shoulder gently, helping her stand right again.

'Thank you,' she muttered. The bus resumed its way up the long avenue.

'Don't worry. They seem happy, don't they?' he added, motioning his head towards their classmates. None of them seemed to have noticed the rough halt.

'They're kids. Kids are always happy.'

He gave her a half-joking, half-skeptic look.

'Were you always happy as a kid?'

'Sometimes.'

He grinned.

'Why don't you sing along?' the young detective asked. 'It could be fun.'

'No, thank you. I'd rather invest my time on something more productive.'

Seemingly satisfied with her answer, the boy grinned again and averted his eyes so as to peep through the nearest window.

'I found the idea weird at first, taking the whole class into a regular bus,' he commented. Ai's gaze flew around the narrow space, lingering for a second or two on each passenger's face and posture. Nothing exceptional – wrinkled elders, advertisement-like families, excited teenagers. Only a few of them even had a decent fashion sense. 'But it hasn't been the end of the world, has it?'

'Worse has happened,' she responded in an absent-minded tone. The bus halted again, this time at a proper bus stop.

'Having lunch by the river doesn't sound too bad,' he continued, leaning against a wall and moving his arms behind his head. 'At least we're skipping a day of school – it's boring to study the same once again… It is hardly midday, and by three or so we'll be home. I asked the teacher myself.'

'I'm glad,' she murmured. She glanced at the varied group of people stepping onto the bus. 'I can't wait to be back, with a magazine on my hands and…'

An unpleasant wave of electricity ran down her spine and paralyzed her from head to toe. Her heart speeded up its pace. A member of the Organization had just entered that very bus. And not a single second went by before she could know who it was.

Had he been only half a head shorter, she would not have spotted him. But he was hard to miss by nature – for many reasons. It did not matter that he was wearing casual clothes, nor that he had his hair up in a ponytail and covered at its most by a cap.

The moment she saw him, she knew she was looking at Gin.

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 **Author's notes:**

¡Hola! Hello! Hallo! こんにちは! Salut! Here comes Sherry Furude once more, ready for attack!

How long has it been since I last published a fic with at least two chapters? Little more than **seven months**? Very long, then. But here we are at last! Did you miss my multi-chapter babies? I did!

I've written this fic written for (what I classify as) a **request** , although it was not made on Tumblr... but **here, on FanFiction!** It was the dear **icetears2** ( u/7195334/) who, back on **April 13th** (when I was already studying for my finals), asked me to write a GinSherry fic 'dramatic, sad and filled with love and fear,' which took place 'in the present' and which featured Gin and Sherry 'at the same scene and not remembering each other in the past.' However, it wasn't until **early July** that I could start really working on it.

Although I've kept making corrections (however small or bigger) ever since, the fic has been finished and plot-wise 'carved in stone' for about two weeks now. It has **four chapters** , which I plan to publish according to the following schedule: **chapter 1 on July 31th** , **chapter 2 on August 2nd** , **chapter 3 on August 4th** and **chapter 4 on August 5th**.

As I always say, **don't hesitate to tell me if you find any kind of mistake**. Help me become a better writer! I would also be very glad to know your opinions on this chapter (or on ay of the other ones).

 **Thank you for reading** and see you at the end of next chapter!

Lots of love,

 **Sherry F.**


	2. Trail

**Chapter 2: Trail.**

Ai clutched a hand over her heart and tried to move a step back, but bumped into whoever stood behind her. She glanced around frantically – the bus, already on the go again, was completely full, leaving her no way away from Gin.

A gasp, nearly a shriek, flew out of her throat when Conan laid a hand on her arm.

'Are you okay?' he asked. A look, both of suspicion and realization, gradually brightened his features. 'Is any of them here? A member of the Organization?'

The girl remained silent. To tell or not to tell. To risk or not to risk.

She nodded her head.

'Who is it?' he asked, gazing around very cautiously. 'How many of them?'

'Only one,' she managed to mutter. 'Gin. Keep quiet!' In spite of the terror that flooded her mind and restrained her body, Ai hurried to hold her friend's shoulder as hard as she could, stopping the shout he was evidently about to let out. 'And stay still. Don't do anything dangerous.'

'Where is he?' Conan demanded, evidently using all of his will so as to observe his friend's advice. 'Where exactly?'

'He's by the middle of the bus.' Ai peeked at their object of discussion and her heart pounded painfully. 'But he's not here as Gin. He's wearing everyday clothes,' she added at Conan's 'How do you know?' gesture. He was wearing jeans, for hell's sake.

'Okay.' The boy turned around, as if gazing at the buildings the bus was passing by, and stopped when reaching the angle from which she knew he saw Gin best. He returned to his original position after a short moment and took a deep breath. 'Okay,' he repeated, clearly nervous. 'You go hide among the other children – make sure Gin can't see you at all. I will put a tracing device on him so I can follow him when he gets off…'

'Don't you even think about it!' Ai protested in a whisper. 'You have no idea where he might be going…'

'I don't care,' he replied. 'Wherever it is, it will help us bring the Organization down.'

'That makes no sense! And it's too dangerous to follow him, anyway. Even to put a tracing device on him!'

'I said I don't care,' insisted Conan with a fierce expression on his face. 'He's the reason I shrunk! He's the one who killed your sister and shot you on that rooftop! Do I have to remind you just how many days you needed a crutch after that?' Ai didn't say a word. The boy seemed to calm down thanks to her silence and took yet another deep breath. 'Haibara, this might be the best opportunity we ever have. For who knows how long, we haven't found the tiniest hint about them, no matter how hard we searched. So I'm going to follow him and that's it.'

'Don't, Kudo!' she retorted. 'It's too dangerous, I tell you. And you don't even know where he's going – of course this could be our best opportunity ever, but it could also lead us to a dead end, in both senses.' The bus stopped again and both she and Conan struggled not to fall. 'Please stop to think for a second!'

Conan, who had kept glancing back every now and then, let out a curse. Ai gazed over the boy's shoulder – Gin was heading towards the open exit door, ready to get off the bus.

'I'll go after him!' announced Conan, looking at her in the eye. 'Stay here – I'll phone you in a while.'

'Wait!'

Ai had hardly opened her lips when Conan dashed away. The girl peeped one last time at her classmates and teacher and hurried after him, making her way through the dense crowd with effort.

No sooner had she stepped onto the road than the doors of the bus closed behind her, missing her hair by inches. She believed she heard the teacher shout her name, but spotted Conan a few feet ahead from her and followed him automatically up the long avenue.


	3. Chase

**Chapter 3: Chase.**

Luckily for Ai, nobody seemed to pay attention to her as she darted through the city. The crowds of people wandering about were not odd given the hour of the day – despite them, she made sure not to lose sight of Conan's figure at any single moment, both for his and her own good.

His plan was utter nonsense – assuming there was any plan in the mind of that mystery-obsessed friend of hers at all, for starters. Damn her slippery tongue. Without her help, he was most likely not to have recognized Gin – Kudo had always seen him sporting his black coat and hat before, and would not expect to find him on a bus by chance. Had she kept quiet, Gin would have gotten off at his stop and Conan and she would have gone on with their carefree excursion. But now they were hunting the fair-headed man down across the city under the midday sun, unsure of where he could lead them or what consequences such pursuit might bring about.

What could happen if Gin realized he was being followed by two children, one of which resembled Sherry most exceptionally? Or, maybe worse, what if other members of the Organization did, either via some sort of camera or in person? And she did not dare to consider that anyone identify them as more than two unknown kids – never as Shinichi Kudo and the traitor Sherry…

And yet… even without Kudo before her, she would still follow Gin. How long had it been since their last meeting – since she had contemplated his ash blonde hair waving in the winter breeze and the scarce light of the evening falling onto his high cheekbones; since she had last heard the timbre of his deep voice, beautifully roughened by uncountable cigarettes? On the bus, her heart had skipped a beat at the novelty it supposed to view him wearing jeans and a T-shirt. Light green really suited him. And his skin – did it appear paler, or had the light mistaken her eyes? Maybe he was or had been ill? Blood loss was a common likelihood for assasins. He could have found himself involved in something nasty (or nastier than usual) and had his body pay the price – however low or high.

Kudo stopped at a corner Gin had just turned and Ai made one last effort to reach her friend. Nearly out of breath, she stopped behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder to catch his attention. The boy turned and opened his eyes wide in surprise.

'What are you doing here?' he snapped at her in a whisper.

'You're the one who should answer!' Startled by her loudness, the boy moved a finger before his lips. 'Let's go back.'

'You go back. I'll follow him wherever he goes, if that can help me bring down the Organization.'

'But what if it doesn't?' she questioned. 'You have no idea where he might be going… Kudo, stop!'

Ignoring her, Conan turned the corner. Ai followed him.

The street they hurried through was half as wide as the busy avenue they had just left. Something stirred in the girl's chest as they ran pass colorful shops and homes. She rembered that place, even if vaguely. She had been there before – but when? Mimicking Conan, she turned a second corner. When she recognized the buildings that rose around her in the new street they arrived to, all her efforts not to stop in shock proved futile after a few steps.

She knew where Gin was going to.

Her pulse speeded up again. How could that be happening? First an encounter out of pure chance, then this… Everything fell into place. Of course Gin was wearing casual clothes, of course he had gotten off the bus at that specific stop (even if she still couldn't guess why he had taken it in the first place), of course he had turned those two corners. The evidence was too clear. The only reason Kudo had not deduced it all yet was that he was missing one crucial detail…

Kudo. By no means could she let him go on.

Her legs complained with a painful burn when she resumed her run. She fixed her eyes on Conan – her shrunken body and its superfluous needs and wants could wait. She stretched her arm, but her fingers missed the boy's jacket by inches. She tried again, begging for her aching legs not to fail her, and her hand finally seized his shoulder. Conan stopped abruptly and turned at her.

'You again?' he exclaimed, nearly bewildered. His own hand flew up to his shoulder and tried to get rid of Ai's. 'Go back and let me follow him!'

'No!' she roared. Her friend froze in place. 'Hear me now – I won't go back unless you come with me!'

'Why?' He glanced at one side and let out a curse. 'Gin's escaping! We need to move….'

'We won't,' the girl claimed. Conan stared back at her. 'Kudo, have you really looked at him? He's not Gin right now! He's just a young man strolling through the city…'

'I don't care he's not working at this moment – he's Gin nevertheless!' her friend replied. 'He's the man who killed your sister, no matter what clothes he wears! He's a member of the Organization that destroyed our lives! Why are you defending him?'

'I'm not defending him! I'm trying to save your life!' The boy let his hand fall to his side. 'Have you not considered how dangerous this could be and how little reward there might be?' A special glow in the young detective's blue eyes gave away that she had caught his attention. Good. She peeped over her friend's shoulder – Gin was about to turn a third corner. Twice as good. 'We have no evidence at all, no proof that following him right now could help us bring the Organization down – or even that we would live to tell the tale. He could recognize me very easily…'

Her hopes died away at the the way Conan's gesture changed at her words.

'Go away, then,' he insisted. With a movement of his shoulder, he finally freed himself from the girl's clutch. 'I don't ask you to come with me.'

'No! Wait!'

For the third time on the same day, Ai watched Conan dash away from her. How could he be so stubborn? She raised her chin and hurried after him. She would be twice as stubborn, then – anything as long as he ended his senseless pursuit.

She had hardly turned the corner of the street when she found him. Conan stood on the middle of the road, breathing hard and skimming the buildings before him. When she approached him, the boy turned at her.

'I've… lost him!' he panted. 'I've lost Gin! All this time… and with all the luck I had had today…'

'It's okay.' Something similar to gratitude seemed to show up in his gaze when Ai rested a gentle hand on his shoulder. 'We were not even sure what could result from all of this.'

'But… this… impotence,' he groaned. 'We have achieved nothing…'

'We're still alive. When dealing with the Organization, that's more than enough.'

The boy kept quiet. Ai glanced around the street and her heart pounded even more painfully than it had done on the bus. At the sight of a certain building, she felt it twist.

'Let things be for now,' she muttered. 'And let's go back. The teacher will be worried.'

Conan nodded. In silence, the two friends turned around and began to walk away. In a certain building of that street, the girl knew, a fair-headed man had probably just opened a door, completely oblivious to the two children who had been following him for a while and only glad to be back home.


	4. Capture, flight

**Chapter 4: Capture, flight.**

Although she knew it by heart, she had never told anyone, not even Kudo – firstly, because she used to believe it had been changed. But now that didn't seem as probable, did it?

Her trembling fingers dialed the phone number and the palm of her hand hurried to cover the microphone. Only a few seconds passed by before she could hear the clacking sound of the telephone at the other side being picked up.

'Hello?'

Her heart skipped a beat. That voice… It had been so awfully long…

'Hello? Who is it?'

She hung up. Had she wanted to say anything at all, how could she have done it, with such a bond in her throat? A handful of tears fell silently down her face.

She had heard Gin's voice once more. Her cheeks blushed, but she did not know whether out of excitement or shame. One way or another, it was enough for her. Aiming to achieve anything more could only end in pain and disappointment.

When she stopped crying, she walked out of the telephone booth and onto the crowded street. The evening was chilly and damp.

 _Whoso list to hunt, I know where is an hind,_

 _But as for me, alas, I may no more;_

 _The vain travail hath wearied me so sore,_

 _I am of them that furthest come behind._

Sir Thomas Wyatt

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 **Extra disclaimer**

The poem reproduced here, known as "Whoso List to Hunt", was written by **Sir Thomas Wyatt**. It is in the public domain, though, because its author died centuries ago.

And yes, that poem is where the title of the fic came from.

 **Thank you for reading the fic!**


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